Toddler’s death ruled a homicide

Authorities investigating the death of a 2-year-old Northwest Side boy are looking at the mother's boyfriend, who has a history of child abuse allegations.

Salvador Sanchez was found unresponsive early Friday at a home in the 6000 block of West Melrose Street, police said. On Saturday, the boy's death was ruled a homicide following an autopsy that showed he died of multiple injuries and blunt trauma from abuse, the Cook County medical examiner's office said.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is investigating the possibility that the boyfriend of Salvador's mother abused the boy, said agency spokesman Kendall Marlowe.

Although the child welfare agency had no prior contact with Salvador's mother's family, it did have "prior indicated allegations of abuse" against the boyfriend in two other cases involving the children of girlfriends in 2002 and in 2005, Marlowe said.

In 2002, the man's own child died, but there were no allegations that the death was caused by abuse, Marlowe said.